Sandi Jackson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sandi Jackson
2007 portrait of Jackson
Member of the Chicago City Council from the 7th ward
In office May 21, 2007 – January 15, 2013
Preceded by	Darcel Beavers
Succeeded by	Natashia Holmes
Personal details
Born	Sandra Lee Stevens (1963-09-14) September 14, 1963 (age 61) Kittery, Maine, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Jesse Jackson Jr. ​ ​ (m. 1991; div. 2018)​
Children	2
Education	Bowling Green State University (BA) Georgetown University University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (JD)

Sandra Lee Jackson (born September 14, 1963) is an American politician. She served on the Chicago City Council as an alderman for the 7th ward. She was elected in 2007 and held the position until January 15, 2013, when she resigned. Later, in 2013, she was sentenced to one year in prison related to tax matters.

Sandi Jackson is the former wife of Jesse Jackson Jr., who was a U.S. Congressman. She is also the former daughter-in-law of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. Her political career, including her run for the city council, was often featured in national news stories. She also worked as a political consultant through her company, J. Donatella & Associates.

Early Life and Education

Sandi Jackson was born in Kittery, Maine. She grew up in Akron, Ohio. She attended Buchtel High School in Akron. Her mother, Sarah Stevens, worked hard to raise Sandi and her two siblings. Sandi helped her mother clean homes to earn money for college.

She earned her bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University in 1985. Later, she studied law at Georgetown University Law Center. She then transferred to the University of Illinois College of Law, where she earned her law degree in 1992.

Family Life

Sandi Jackson met her future husband, Jesse Jackson Jr., while she was a law student. They married on June 1, 1991. They have two children: Jessica Donatella Jackson (born in 2000) and Jesse Louis Jackson, III (born in 2003).

The Jackson family had homes in both Chicago and Washington, D.C.. Their Chicago home in the South Shore area was often used for political campaigns. Their Washington, D.C., home in Dupont Circle served as their main family residence.

Sandi Jackson faced some health challenges. She had multiple miscarriages before her children were born. In 1998, she lost a baby born too early. In 2008, she had surgery to remove a non-cancerous tumor from her neck. The family also experienced a house fire during the 2008 Christmas holidays. In 2016, her husband filed for divorce, and their settlement was reached in 2018.

Political Beginnings

Sandi Jackson had a long history in politics before becoming an alderman. Early in her career, she worked as a press secretary for U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland. After the 1988 Democratic National Convention, she worked for Michael Dukakis, who was running for U.S. President.

She held several important roles, including:

• Deputy Director of Training for the Democratic National Committee.
• Director of Scheduling Operations for Rev. Jesse Jackson.
• Vice President of Congressional and External Affairs for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (appointed by President Bill Clinton).
• Director of VIP Relations for the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
• National Outreach Coordinator for the Clinton/Gore 96 Campaign.
• Campaign manager and chief political strategist for many other politicians.

During the 2000 United States presidential election, Sandi Jackson supported Al Gore's campaign. She was an Illinois state co-chair for GoreNet, a group that focused on young Americans.

While working at the Export-Import Bank, she disagreed with her husband, Congressman Jackson, on a proposal. He wanted to make rules stricter for the bank's activities in Africa. Sandi Jackson successfully argued against his proposal, and his amendment did not pass.

She thought about running for public office in Chicago in 2003. At that time, her husband discouraged her from running. However, he later changed his mind and supported her decision to run for alderman.

The 2007 Election

In 2006, the alderman for Chicago's 7th ward, William Beavers, decided to leave his seat. He wanted to run for a different position on the Cook County Board. Beavers asked Mayor Richard M. Daley to appoint his daughter, Darcel Beavers, to take his place. This would give her an advantage in the upcoming 2007 municipal elections.

When Sandi Jackson considered running for the 7th ward alderman seat, it changed these plans. Her husband, Congressman Jackson, encouraged her to run. In November 2006, William Beavers won his new County Board seat. On December 5, 2006, Sandi Jackson officially filed her paperwork to run. Mayor Daley then appointed Darcel Beavers to the alderman seat until the spring elections. On December 18, Sandi Jackson filed 5,000 petition signatures to run.

Campaign Efforts

Sandi Jackson received support from many groups, including The Chicago Tribune newspaper and several labor unions. However, she was not endorsed by the Cook County Democratic Party.

The Jackson family sometimes had different views from Mayor Daley. Congressman Jackson had even thought about running against Daley for mayor. Sandi Jackson supported her husband's idea of running for mayor. William Beavers, her opponent's father, had been a long-time supporter of Mayor Daley. However, Sandi Jackson stated she had good relationships with the Daley family.

Sandi Jackson took a break from her job at the Democratic National Committee to campaign. Her husband helped by using billboards in the ward to show images of them together. He had bought the rights to many billboards for his own possible mayoral campaign. He then used some of them to help his wife. Congressman Jackson invested $200,000 in his wife's campaign. This money paid for billboards, mailers, and campaign staff.

William Beavers tried to make Sandi Jackson's Washington, D.C., home an issue. He reminded voters that his daughter lived in the ward, while Sandi Jackson did not always. There were public disagreements between the Beavers and Jackson families. Sandi Jackson focused her campaign on important issues like the economy, education, and public safety. She also talked about developing the lakefront area in the ward.

Election Results

The election results for the 7th ward alderman were:

• Darcel Beavers: 4,004 votes (33.50%)
• Ron David: 951 votes (7.96%)
• Eric Brown: 216 votes (1.81%)
• Sandi Jackson: 6,783 votes (56.74%)

Sandi Jackson won the election. Darcel Beavers was one of only four existing aldermen to lose their seats in these elections. Five new aldermen who were supported by labor groups and Jesse Jackson Jr. also won.

Aldermanic Career

The city of Chicago has fifty wards, and each ward is represented by an alderman in the Chicago City Council. Chicago's 7th ward is located near Lake Michigan. It includes parts of the South Shore, South Chicago, Calumet Heights, and South Deering communities.

When Sandi Jackson first became an alderman, she faced some challenges. She told the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper that she was surprised by the need to pay for her office setup costs upfront. This led to comments from a columnist in the Chicago Tribune and online. At the time, she was considered one of the most closely watched new aldermen.

Her first public statement as an alderman showed her disappointment with Mayor Daley. He had passed an affordable housing law just before the new aldermen took office. She felt the new aldermen would be "forced to live by" a law they did not vote on. Meanwhile, her husband proposed ethics reforms for the city. These reforms included giving more power to the city's inspector general to investigate aldermen.

When she took office, Sandi Jackson said her main goal for her ward was economic development. One of her plans was to redevelop a large former steel mill site into a lakefront community. This project would include new homes, a shopping mall, and parkland.

Key Votes and Issues

Sandi Jackson often voted with a group of aldermen who wanted to see reforms. In 2007, she and other African-American aldermen raised concerns about contracts for the O'Hare Airport runway expansion. They noted that African-American firms received only a small percentage of the contracts.

She voted against Mayor Daley's proposal to increase property taxes in November 2007. She also opposed a real estate transfer tax increase in February 2008. Sandi Jackson was also a co-sponsor of a council resolution that opposed U.S. military attacks against Iraq.

She spoke out about American Airlines' new fees for checked luggage. She believed these fees went against the airline's agreement with the City of Chicago. She argued that the fees unfairly affected regular travelers.

Sandi Jackson was also upset about light punishments given for a city contract scheme. She felt that the mayor's office did not properly condemn the dishonest actions. During a rise in violent crime in Summer 2008, she called for more police support.

By her second year as an alderman, Sandi Jackson had built up a significant amount of campaign funds. She pushed for more openness regarding city hiring practices. Her voting record earned her praise from the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization. A local political writer even named her as one of four aldermen who were leading reform efforts.

Campaign Funds and Other Roles

In 2001, the Federal Election Commission allowed Jesse Jackson Jr. to hire his wife on his campaign payroll. The rule was that she could be paid as long as it was a fair amount for her work. Between 2001 and early 2009, her husband's campaign paid her at least $247,500. This included $95,000 after she became an alderman.

Sandi Jackson received a special digital radio from Chicago's 911 Center. This radio was to help her monitor snow removal and emergency operations in her ward. She returned the radio after it caused some controversy.

When Congressman Bobby Rush was battling cancer, some publications mentioned Sandi Jackson as a possible future candidate for his seat in the United States House of Representatives. However, Rush recovered and returned to his duties. Later, when her husband was considered for a U.S. Senate seat, Sandi Jackson was mentioned as a possible candidate for his Congressional seat.

During the Rod Blagojevich corruption scandal, Sandi Jackson's name was mentioned. It was suggested that the governor had considered her for a state job. He then allegedly asked for campaign contributions from her husband. When her husband did not make a contribution, she was not chosen for the job.

In 2008, her second year as alderman, Sandi Jackson used more than $32,000 from her aldermanic expense account for her American Express account. She stated she used the AmEx account to help set up her office when she first started.

Beyond Aldermanic Duties

In October 2007, Sandi Jackson decided to run for the 7th ward Democratic Committeeman position. This role involves determining appointments for vacant political posts. Her opponent was William Beavers, the former alderman. Her husband asked the Federal Election Commission for permission to use his campaign funds to support her in this local race. The commission allowed him to contribute unlimited funds from his $827,000 fund. On February 5, 2008, Sandi Jackson defeated William Beavers for the 7th Ward Democratic Committeeman position by a large margin.

Sandi Jackson also continued her work as a political consultant through her company, J. Donatella & Associates. She managed and advised several Democratic campaigns, including her husband's Congressional races. She continued this work while serving as an alderman. She has worked as a campaign manager and chief political strategist for politicians like Robin Kelly, David Miller, William Davis, and James Meeks.